


trigonometry

by androgynousmikewheeler



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Canon Autistic Character, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Abed Nadir, Other, Trans Annie Edison, Trans Troy Barnes, lesbian Annie Edison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:06:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29123898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousmikewheeler/pseuds/androgynousmikewheeler
Summary: Troy finds out where Abed spent the night. Annie helps him understand the emotions that accompany this revelation.
Relationships: Abed Nadir/Original Male Character(s), Annie Edison/Abed Nadir, Troy Barnes & Annie Edison, Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 12
Kudos: 64





	trigonometry

Troy stumbles towards the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes. He’s heavily considering murdering Abed for convincing him to take English with them at 9:30 in the morning. Only Abed didn’t come home last night, so that looks like it might be difficult. 

Until he turns the corner to see them standing by the kitchen counter, cheerily making coffee. 

“Abed?”

“Hi, Troy. Do you want coffee? I’ve got waffles in the toaster.”

“Nah,” he mumbles as he swings open the refrigerator to grab the milk. “Where were you last night? Annie wanted to put out a Missing Persons report.” Troy chuckles. 

Abed looks at him for a moment. “Jared’s apartment. Was Annie upset?”

Troy shrugs. “She just worries, you know?” His voice takes on a hint of jealousy. “Who’s Jared?”

“Skinny Rambo, from my film class?”

Troy thinks for a moment, before sending them a finger gun. “Shirley thought he was cute.”

“Yeah. She’s not wrong.”

Troy’s stomach twists. “What’s that mean?”

“He is attractive. I’m sorry, was that not clear?”

“He’s like, way older than you.”

“He's about the same age as Britta. You didn't seem to mind." 

“Yeah, but you’re not gay.” Troy’s mind tumbles for a moment into a world of possibilities. But they aren’t gay, so they’re all pointless. Or are they? Troy is confused. “Are you?” 

The toaster dings and Abed turns toward it, face hidden. “No.”

Troy’s chest rushes with something. He doesn’t really want to figure out what. “So what were you doing at Old Rambo’s?”

“Sleeping, mostly. And, you know, sex.” Abed turns towards him, two plates of waffles in hand, just in time for Troy to spit milk directly into their face. 

For several seconds, they just blink at each other, milk dripping from Abed’s eyelashes. Then they sputter back to chaotic, babbling life together. 

“Oh my god, Abed, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—“

“I messed up again. What did I say? Is it the sex thing? Should I not—“

“No, you’re good. I was just surprised. I— you—“

“I always say things wrong. I’m sorry. I—“

“What’s going on in here?” Annie asks as she hurries through her bedroom door. “Is Abed okay? Did something happen last night?”

“We’re great!” Troy calls, much too quickly. 

“I said something wrong and I don’t know what it was and now Troy is upset with me, I think.”

“I’m not upset! I’m fine! Everything’s fine!” Troy’s voice reaches a dangerously high pitch as he stumbles through his words. 

“Then why did you spit milk in my face?”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“But—“

“Hey!” Annie yells, waving her arms at them. “Both of you, stop!”

Their mouths snap shut like scolded dogs. “Sorry, Annie,” Troy mutters. 

Annie sits down at the counter and gives them a look both concerned and scathing. “Now, what is going on?”

“I said—“ Abed says. 

“Abed’s having—“ 

The noise that comes out of Annie’s mouth is similar to a chip reader rejecting a credit card. Abed and Troy go silent. 

“One at a time. Troy, please.”

Troy sighs. “Abed surprised me and I spit milk in his face.”

Annie grimaces at the milk still glistening on Abed’s skin and hands them a towel. “Gross. Abed, what did you do that surprised Troy?”

“I think I said the word sex.”

Troy scoffs. “I was not surprised that you said sex. I was surprised that... you know.”

Annie looks at Abed expectantly. They shrug. “Troy?” she says. 

_“AbedhadsexwithOldRambo,"_ he blurts.

“What?”

“Abed had sex with Old Rambo.”

Annie’s face pales. “Oh.” Her eyes mirror Troy’s odd pain at the news. “Is that true?”

Abed’s apologetic confusion falls into defeat. “Oh. Troy’s uncomfortable because I’m bisexual.” They struggle to say something for a moment before simply repeating, “Oh.”

“What?” Troy splutters, “No! I just— I didn’t—“

Abed puts down the soggy waffles and walks out of the kitchen. “I should go,” they say, grabbing their backpack from the blanket fort and heading out the front door, feet still bare. 

“Wait!” Troy calls, but the door slams shut between them and Abed is gone.

He picks up the damp towel and throws it at the wall. “Fuck!”

Annie stares at the towel, crumpled on the floor, and says nothing. Troy slumps into the chair next to her, feet stomping against the linoleum. After a long silence, he speaks. 

“I didn’t— I’m not— it’s not because he’s bisexual!”

Annie sighs. “I know.”

“It’s just— I didn’t— he never told me— fuck.” Troy buries his face in his arms, eyes brimming with tears. 

“I know,” she says again. 

He looks up at her and sniffs. “Annie, why am I crying? I never cry.” His voice goes high and reedy with frustration. “Abed’s bi. Good for him! Abed’s having sex with the weird guy in his film class. Good for him! Why am I upset?”

She wraps an arm around him. “Same reason I am.” He hums, urging her to continue. She rolls her eyes. “Because we’re jealous.”

Troy jerks away from her. “What? No, I’m not! I'm not into Abed and I’m not gay. Why do you think I’m gay? I’m not gay.”

Annie hums. “I don’t think you need to be gay to be into Abed.”

“Huh? I’m a dude. He’s a dude. That’s gay.”

“Abed kind of operates outside of sexuality. It’s part of their charm.”

Troy sits on the counter to face Annie's chair. “Their?”

She squeaks. “His. I said his.”

“You definitely said 'their.' Is there some sort of gender pronoun thing going on here?”

“I... may have picked up on some gender shit from Abed and done some experimenting with they/them pronouns. They said it felt cool so I stuck with it.” She blushes and plays with her hair. 

“Oh.” Somehow this just makes Troy feel more dejected. “Guess you guys are getting pretty close.”

“Awww, Troy. It’s not like that. It’s just...” She exhales loudly and says, voice quivering ever so slightly, “It’s because I’m also trans. So there was a natural understanding there, I guess.”

Troy squeaks indignantly. “What?”

Annie winces back. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I just—“

Troy immediately stills, holding up his hands in placation. “I’m not mad, it’s just... _I’m_ trans.”

Annie raises her eyebrows. “You are?”

“Yes! _You_ are?”

“Yes! How did neither of us know this?”

Troy tucks his feet up on the counter, cross-legged, and bends forward to stare at the ground. “My brain’s on fire. I’ve spent a month trying to figure out how to hide this shit from a roommate...”

“So have I!” She lets out a high-pitched whine before a thought strikes her. “Wait, does Abed know? I mean, they know I am, but...”

Troy nods. “Oh, yeah. He’s— They’ve known for a while. Remember the STD Dance?”

“It was an awareness fair, not a dance,” she corrects. 

“Whatever. Anyway, Abed and I were having that whole... I don’t know...”

“Big tough man competition?”

He looks up to narrow his eyes at her. “Sure. Anyway, I may have decided to play basketball in my binder because I didn’t think it would be a big deal.” Annie winces. “Yeah, you see where this is going. I got really out of breath and panicky, and I had to go take it off, and he— they got worried, and it all kind of came out.” He laughs performatively. “Came out. Good one.”

Annie gives an amused exhale before asking, “Wait, you’re not wearing a binder whenever I’m around, are you? That’s really unhealthy, Troy, I don’t want you—“

He rests a hand on her shoulder. “No, don’t worry. No more boobs for me; I got top surgery after season one.”

Annie giggles. “You spend too much time with Abed. And congratulations, if very belated.”

“Thanks. I moved in with Pierce three weeks later, and I told him I’d gotten mauled by a bear.”

“Wait, is this the context for that Old White Man Says—“

Troy breaks out into a wide grin. “It is! He was like, ‘Maybe if you didn’t wear such fruity sunscreen, the bear wouldn’t think you were gay,’ and I said, ‘Not a gay guy, a grizzly bear,’ and he was like—“

“‘I know!’” they chorus. 

“God,” she says, “I miss Old White Man Says. Somehow, it’s less funny when he says it to your face.”

“Yeah...” His face crumples in discomfort. “Anyway, besides the point, you’re trans, I’m trans, Abed’s... something, and also sleeping with Old Rambo. Now what?”

“You admit that you’re in love with them?”

His gut twists. “Okay, I am not _in love_ with them, don’t be weird.”

Annie purses her lips and hums. “Okay. Desperately devoted to them.”

“Yeah. In a best friend way. Because we’re best friends.” The words don't feel convincing.

She hops up onto the counter beside him and pats his arm. “Okay, sweetie.”

He laughs. “When did you turn into Shirley?”

“Oh, you guys would be so screwed if I turned into Shirley. Two Shirleys and no lesbians? The repression would be off the charts.”

Troy clears his throat, voice small as he repeats, “Lesbians?”

Annie fidgets with her hair. “Yeah, I think so.”

He grins and wraps an arm around her. “Cool.” She beams, pulling him into a tight hug. 

"Wait," Troy asks, " _you're_ in love with Abed?"

Annie turns bright red. "' _In love_ ' might be a stretch. I may have a crush," she murmurs into his shoulder. 

Troy pulls back, kicking his heels against the table. "They are really pretty, huh?"

Annie's signature infatuated smile stretches across her face. "Yeah, they are."

Troy kicks at the table with increased vigor, sporting a similar smile. "Maybe I have a little bit of a crush."

"A little bit?"

"Shut up."

Annie hops off the table and pours herself a cup of Abed's coffee. "So what are you gonna do about it?"

Troy glares at her. "What are _you_ gonna do about it?"

Annie coughs. "Nothing. But they're not into me, they're into you."

His eyes widen. "They're _what?_ "

Annie takes her coffee back into her bedroom, calling over her shoulder with a smug smile, "Abed is every bit as in love with you as you are with them." As she swings her door shut, she adds, "Maybe you should bring them their shoes."

"Right," he murmurs, excitement glowing through his chest, "maybe I should."

He slips on a pair of shoes, grabbing his bag and a pair of Abed's sneakers and rushing out the door. 

Annie peeks her head out of her bedroom after him. "I meant _after_ you got dressed!" She rolls her eyes at his retreating back.

He rushes down the apartment building stairs and to the bus stop down the block, where Abed stands in their bare feet beside one of their neighbors.

"Abed!" he calls, "your shoes!"

Abed looks up at him and winces. "Oh," they smile weakly, "thanks." They take the sneakers and pull them on, barely looking at Troy.

"Can we talk?" 

They shrug. "If you want."

Troy's brain stalls, trying desperately to morph his warped knot of emotions into words. "I– You– I– I'm in love with you."

Abed freezes, staring at him in utter confusion. "What?" they squeak.

In a whisper, he echoes, "I'm in love with you."

Abed squeaks again. 

The other person at the bus stop tries to hide a surprised laugh. Troy glares at her and she looks away.

Abed stares straight ahead, seemingly in shut down. "Cool," they breathe, "cool, cool, cool." They fall into repeating the word, hands tapping erratically.

Troy's heart sinks. "Do you– Are you–"

"In love with you?" Abed supplies. "Yes, yes, I am."

"Cool," Troy says, "so…?"

"Is it okay if I kiss you now?" Abed asks.

"I think maybe we should talk first."

Abed nods and opens their mouth to speak when the bus pulls up before them. They look up at it and sigh. "After class, then."

As they mount the bus steps, Troy stretches up and kisses Abed on the cheek. "After class," he agrees.


End file.
